Ships to pay for their emissions
Photo:
Massey University
For the first time, shipping companies will have to pay for the emissions produced by their vessels, but the decision falls far short of what Pacific Island nations had fought for at the recent International Maritime Organisation talks.
The world's maritime watchdog has agreed to a framework, which will be ratified later this year, where ships will be subject to a charge on their greenhouse gas emissions, increasing after a certain threshold, and will also be able to trade carbon credits with one another.
The measure is forecast to raise about $10 billion US a year, which is much lower than the $60 billion a year that had been hoped for from the carbon levy proposal pitched by Pacific, and Caribbean nations.
The measure also won't achieve the IMO's own Greenhouse Gas Strategy which it revised in 2023.
Dr Tristan Smith, who is a Professor of Energy and Transport at the UCL Energy Institute in London, speaks to Kathryn about the agreement.
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